Downend air crash
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| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | November 6, 1957 |
| Type | unknown cause |
| Site | Downend, near Bristol, UK |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 15 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Fatalities | 15 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Bristol Britannia Type 301 |
| Operator | n/a |
| Tail number | G-ANCA |
The Downend air crash occurred on November 6, 1957 when a prototype Type 301 Bristol Britannia aircraft, G-ANCA, crashed in woods near Overndale Road in Downend Village, near Bristol, England, on its landing approach at Filton airport during a test flight.
A memorial service was held at Bristol Cathedral on November 19, 1957. A memorial plaque at the crash site, now called Britannia Wood, was unveiled on November 3, 2007 by the widow of the plane's pilot, Mrs Statham, and the local MP Roger Berry.
[edit] Cause
The exact cause of the crash was never determined, but was suspected to be a malfunction of the autopilot, possibly due to faulty wiring. The company which manufactured the autopilot system issued a statement claiming it was not due to the autopilot system, but still altered the system in newer aircraft, the official report states unknown cause but "the autopilot system cannot be ruled out as the likely cause".
Another source cites the cause as "...an instrument failure which ultimately led to a loss of control."[1]
[edit] Casualties
The 15 man crew perished in the crash. Despite the plane coming down in a residential area, nobody was killed on the ground.
The names of the crew who perished are:
- John Kenneth Barker
- John Edward Burton
- Donald Charles Cameron
- Albert Edward Ebling
- Philip Norman Edward Hewitt
- Donald Matthew Hunter
- Kenneth Graham Lucas
- Dudley Neville Stephen Moynihan
- Frederick William Mycroft
- John Harold Parry-Jones
- Ernest Hugh Statham
- Nigel Morris Thorne
- William James Todd
- Bernard Francis Waite
- Frederick Charles Walsh
[edit] References
- ^ Accident Synopsis ยป 11061957. Airdisaster.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-22.
